Now Thorsby might as well never get a contract proposal from a sovereign City. But he could in theory be the current candidate for Saudi-owned Newcastle. The answer will be the same.

While the country and perhaps the biggest soccer star in the world today is closely tied to one of the world’s most successful sports laundering projects, Thorsby says no.

Norway has never had a footballer close to the star status that Erling Braut Haaland has.

The 22-year-old from Bryne is already unique in Norwegian football history. What is special is that he is not only the best in the Norwegian context. Currently, he is the most raw goalscorer in the Premier League. He is one of the best strikers in the world.

Three hat-tricks in eight games in the Premier League is a truly remarkable achievement. Before Haaland came to England, Michael Owen was the player who spent the fewest games scoring three hat-tricks.

He spent 48 games. So forty more. Following his transfer from Germany, the winger scored one goal every 54 minutes he was on the pitch for Manchester City. In the national team, he almost scored one goal per game. Records fall like flies.

For Norwegian football, it’s fantastic we’ve produced a player like that. Every time Haaland wears the Norwegian national team jersey, it is a promise of better times for our best players. The long awaited championship seems much more achievable when we have world stars on the team.

Erling Braut Haaland’s tantrum in the Premier League also gave a new generation a whole new dream. There is a path from the Norwegian dumpster to the biggest stage. The number of Haaland jerseys at the Norwegian football club will explode as the goals flow.

On the one hand, it would be great if the Norwegian national team players could replace the international stars in the back of the Norwegian children’s board. The problem is that at the same time they are running around with the Etihad on their chest, in a suit that is now one of the world’s main symbols of how the popularity of football is being exploited by authoritarian regimes.

And where Morten Thorsby has taken a principled stand against sports laundering and argued well why footballers should use their voice and influence, Haaland prefers to talk about sport. I understand why, but I think it’s a shame.

For football’s biggest stars, it’s hard to find a club that is one hundred percent pure. The list of clubs with links to authoritarian regimes with systematic human rights abuses is growing.

Roughly speaking, I myself divide these clubs into three levels of sports laundering. The top tier are clubs that are directly owned by the state or have owners who are very close to state authorities, clubs that quite clearly serve as political tools for this regime. Here we find Newcastle and PSG, but also Manchester City Haaland.

Level two are clubs that work with authoritarian regimes or have owners with clear ties to these states and their heads of state.

Examples are Chelsea under Roman Abramovich, Arsenal’s collaboration with Rwanda, the owners of Wolverhampton in China, and Barcelona’s collaboration with the Qatar Foundation, which is gradually slipping into Qatar Airways.

Tier three are clubs sponsored by state-owned companies from authoritarian regimes, such as the series of clubs sponsored by Emirates, Qatar Airways and Russia’s Gazprom. Many of the clubs that might be relevant for Haaland are at one of these three levels, but we can’t forget the fact that he picked one of the worst in his class.

When top-flight football is so heavily infiltrated by various devious actors who want to harness the power of football, I understand that it is tempting for a footballer to only want to think about the sport.

Nor is it the players who should bear the main responsibility in this match. Football careers are short, and they try to make the most of the talent they have. The ultimate responsibility lies higher up in the system, among those who manage top-flight international football. They are the ones who hold the key if the problem is really to be solved.

However, Thorsby is right when he says that footballers themselves also have a great opportunity to influence. The players themselves must take responsibility for what they help to legitimize and to whom they lend their star status.

Manchester City is and will be more than just a football club. It is also one of the most successful sports washing projects ever. They have won four of the last five league gold medals in England. Pep Guardiola has built the masterpiece of a football team and Erling Braut Haaland is the final piece of the puzzle. At the same time, Emirates’ position in the international community is being strengthened.

Haaland has fantastic team-mates who allow him to shine even more. This is a direct result of Abu Dhabi’s finding that it is wise to invest in football to strengthen its own position and reputation internationally.

When Emirates launched its Soft Power strategy in 2017, it was none other than Sheikh Mansour, owner of City Football Group, who stood on the podium and spoke about the goal of consolidating the UAE’s position in the world and in the hearts of people. And football is an effective way that is harmful to people’s hearts.

As a football team, Manchester City is one of the best sports that can be offered. As a political tool, they are advertising posters of regimes that systematically violate human rights. Earlier this fall, for example, we could see Erling Braut Haaland talk hotly about Abu Dhabi on his Visit Abu Dhabi Instagram account. While he won’t answer questions about owners, regimes and human rights abuses at a press conference here in Norway, he is part of an authoritarian regime’s carefully thought-out political strategy.

Does that mean we shouldn’t be happy that Norway has nurtured one of the world’s best strikers? Not. It’s a win for Norwegian football because we have a striker who can perform at that level. Does that mean it’s wrong to cheer on our new superstar? Not. But for me, the excitement has a aftertaste because we know very well who paid Haaland and pals to play against our city rivals in Manchester.

It’s great that the 22-year-old from Bryne scored on command. I just hope he does it for another club.